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SIGNpost : The A-Z of Learning Holidays
An increasingly popular post-retirement activity is the "learning
holiday". So if you're bored of beach based breaks, and tired of
walking around looking at the "marvellous architecture", what about
trying out something completely new, either in the UK or in more exotic
climes?
The options available are endless, so here are just a few ideas to whet your appetite:
Italian Cookery Weeks: learn how to
cook authentic Italian food and enjoy a relaxing Mediterranean holiday
in Umbria, Apulia or on the Amalfi coast. Contact Italian Cookery weeks
on 020 8208 0112. www.italian-cookery-weeks.co.uk
Learn Spanish in Spain (Barcelona, Granada, Salamanca or Malaga) with don Quijote. Contact Don Quijote on 020 8786 8081. www.donquijote.co.uk
Learn Vinyasa Yoga, the Salsa,
Afro-Latino Dance, or one of 200 other skills at Europe's first
alternative holiday centre (it claims) on the Greek Island of Skyros or
alternatively in Thailand. Contact Skyros on 020 7267 4424 www.skyros.com
Learn Photography by taking pictures
of Whales and Grizzly Bears in Alaska, Snow Monkeys in Japan or
Wildlife in Scotland with Light and Land. Contact Light and Land Ltd on
01737 768723 www.lightandland.co.uk
Learn to Paint with Watercolours at
Weobley in Hereford where courses range from those for absolute
beginners to the advance artist. Contact Weobley Art Centre on 01544
318548 www.watercolouratweobley.com
Try your hand at Writing TV Comedy,
Short Stories or a Novel at the Arvon Foundation in Devon, West
Yorkshire or Inverness-shire. Contact The Arvon Foundation on 01422
843714 www.arvonfoundation.org
Try abseiling, climbing, caving and orienteering on an adventure and challenge weekend in the Peak District National Park. Contact Peak Activities Ltd on 01433 650345 www.peakactivities.com Landscape Painting, Archaeology, Geology and Bird Watching are also available. Contact Losehill Hall on 01433 620373 www.peakdistrict.org/losehill .
If you'd prefer to use your trips overseas to perfect your tan but
would still like to learn something new, your local Further Education
College will run a wide variety of "recreation courses" ranging from
aromatherapy to Zen Buddhism. Your local college should be in the
telephone book. In addition Time to Learn - A directory of learning
breaks and study tours" is published twice a year by City & Guilds.
http://www.time-to-learn.org.uk
Alternatively, if you are unable to guarantee an evening a week or
prefer to learn something new in your own home rather than in public,
why not try open or distance learning. The academic qualifications
offered by the Open University are well known but distance learning is
not just for serious study, recreational subjects are available too,
for example:
- The National Extension College offers over 140 Home Study Courses
ranging from career and business skills through to how to draw
cartoons. For a prospectus call 01223 400200 www.nec.ac.uk.
- The Open College of the Arts provides distance - learning
programmes designed to allow you to discover your creative potential.
Courses cover garden design, video production, sculpture, drawing etc.
For details contact OCA on 01226 730495 www.oca-uk.com
- KLC School of Design offers home study courses in Interior
Decoration and Decorative Paint Finishes for those of you who fancy
your chances on Changing Rooms. For details contact KLC on 020 7376
3377 www.klc.co.uk
So, no time is not an excuse anymore!
Further General Information:
The National Organisation for Adult Learning (NIACE) Renaissance
House, 20 Princess Road West, Leicester LE1 6TP - 0116 204 4200 www.niace.org.uk
Adult Residential Colleges Association (ARCA) PO Box 31, Washbrook, Ipswich, IP8 3HF www.aredu.org.uk
Support for Learning www.support4learning.com/education/adult.htm
Alternatively, if you can't find information on the particular
activity you are interested in give SIGNpost a call - no matter how
weird or wonderful your particular pursuit (we did find a conference
for a person to attend who was interested in Barbed Wire Collecting -
courtesy of The Bizarre Leisure Book published by Robson Books Ltd).
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